Texans lose despite a heroic effort from Deshaun Watson
The good, bad and ugly from the Texans loss to the Eagles
Dec 23, 2018, 3:43 pm
DeAndre Hopkins and the Texans were oh, so close. Mitchell Leff/Getty Images
The Texans fought through a determined Eagles team to secure the AFC South Division crown, but fell short in a 32-30 loss to the defending champion Eagles in Philly. Here's how I saw it:
The Good
- Deshaun Watson lived up to ALL the hype in this game! He put the team on his back and tried to will them to victory. Sure he messed up a few times, but he also accounted for all four touchdowns. His second touchdown pass helped put them up 30-29 with two minutes left.
- Jadaveon Clowney came up with a huge strip sack and fumble recovery that led to Watson's early go ahead touchdown run in the second quarter. He beat the backup left tackle on a speed rush, and then hit Foles right on the arm to strip him. As he wrapped him up and slung him to the ground, he found the ball and recovered it.
-Benardrick McKinney is trying to live up to his $50 million dollar extension and recent Pro Bowl selection with his performance. He made two athletic plays: a pass breakup in the end zone and a juggling interception.
The Bad
-Dylan Cole misplayed a wheel route on 4th down and Justin Reid missed a tackle that allowed Darren Sproles to score a 37-yard touchdown. The communication seemed slightly off before the snap which is why I believe Cole misplayed it, but I don't know why Reid didn't bring Sproles down instead of trying to strip the ball.
-Tyrann Mathieu was burned for an 83-yard touchdown by Nelson Ahgolor. He was beaten deep, recovered, but failed to knock the ball away. When he stumbled in attempt to bat away the pass, Ahgolor made a house call.
-The Eagles passing attack made the Texans secondary look like the one playing with a bunch of backups. Foles went 35 of 49 for 471 yards and four touchdowns. He hit his tight end Zach Ertz for 11 catches with 90 yards and two of those four touchdowns.
The Ugly
-More brain farts in scoring range stalled the second drive of the game and helped seal their fate in the fourth quarter. Watson took an unnecessary sack on both drives. One ended with a field goal, the latter ended in an Eagles recovered fumble. This is getting old and I'm tired of writing it every damn game!
-Kareem Jackson went down with a knee injury and Jonathan Joseph went down with a neck injury. But when receiver Demaryius Thomas went down and was carted off, it was heartbreaking. The other guys may be back at some point, but Thomas appears to be done for the season.
-Refs missed a facemask on two point conversion by Clowney. He clearly grabbed Nick Foles' facemask. Eagles' defensive end Brandon Graham got called for a horrible roughing penalty against Watson. But the call on Clowney with 1:38 left was the worst! Had he not lowered his helmet, they would've flagged him for helmet to helmet. Refs have an impossible job, but they still suck balls at doing it.
The Texans came into this game with an opportunity to secure the division crown. They ran into a more desperate team that needed this win more than they did. They now need the Patriots to lose next week in order to get the two seed.Most Popular
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Astros keep doing this, and it’s getting hard to ignore
Jun 25, 2025, 10:01 pm
While the rolling Astros have a week of possible World Series preview matchups against the Phillies and Cubs, it’s the Rockets who made the biggest local sports headline with their acquisition of Kevin Durant. What a move! Of course there is risk involved in trading for a guy soon to turn 37 years old and who carries an injury history, but balancing risk vs. reward is a part of the game. This is a fabulous move for the Rockets. It’s understood that there are dissenters to this view. Everyone is entitled to an opinion, including people with the wrong opinion! Let’s dig in.
The Rockets had a wonderful season in winning 52 games before their disappointing first-round playoff loss to the Warriors, but like everyone else in the Western Conference, they were nowhere close to Oklahoma City’s caliber. While they finished second in the West, the Rockets only finished four games ahead of the play-in. That letting the stew simmer with further growth among their young players would yield true championship contention was no given for 2025-26 or beyond.
Kevin Durant is one of the 10 greatest offensive players the NBA has ever seen. Among his current contemporaries only Stephen Curry and Nikola Jokic make that list. For instance, Durant offensively has clearly been better than the late and legendary Kobe Bryant. To view it from a Houston perspective, Durant has been an indisputably greater offensive force than the amazing Hakeem Olajuwon. But this is not a nostalgia trip in which the Rockets are trading for a guy based on what he used to be. While Durant could hit the wall at any point, living in fear that it’s about to happen is no way to live because KD, approaching his 18th NBA season, is still an elite offensive player.
As to the durability concern, Durant played more games (62) this past season than did Fred VanVleet, Jabari Smith, and Tari Eason. The season before he played more games (75) than did VanVleet, Dillon Brooks, and Alperen Sengun. In each of the last two seasons Durant averaged more minutes per game (36.9) than any Rocket. That was stupid and/or desperate of the Suns, the Rockets will be smarter. Not that the workload eroded Durant’s production or efficiency. Over the two seasons he averaged almost 27 points per game while shooting 52 percent from the floor, 42 percent from behind the three-point line, and 85 percent from the free throw line. Awesomeness. The Rockets made the leap to being a very good team despite a frankly crummy half-court offense. The Rockets ranked 21st among the 30 NBA teams in three-point percentage, and dead last in free throw percentage. Amen Thompson has an array of skills and looks poised to be a unique star. Alas, Thompson has no credible jump shot. VanVleet is not a creator, Smith has limited handle. Adding Durant directly addresses the Rockets’ most glaring weakness.
The price the Rockets paid was in the big picture, minimal, unless you think Jalen Green is going to become a bonafide star. Green is still just 23 years old and spectacular athletically, but nothing he has done over four pro seasons suggests he’s on the cusp of greatness. In no season has Green even shot the league average from the floor or from three. His defense has never been as good as it should be given his athleticism. Compared to some other two-guards who made the NBA move one year removed from high school, four seasons into his career Green is waaaaaay behind where Shae Gilgeous-Alexander, Anthony Edwards, and Devin Booker were four seasons in, and now well behind his draft classmate Cade Cunningham. Dillon Brooks was a solid pro in two seasons here and shot a career-best from three in 2024-2025, but he’s being replaced by Kevin Durant! In terms of the draft pick capital sent to Phoenix, five second round picks are essentially meaningless. The Rockets have multiple extra first round picks in the coming years. As for the sole first-rounder dealt away, whichever player the Rockets would have taken 10th Wednesday night would have been rather unlikely to crack the playing rotation.
VanVleet signs extension
Re-signing Fred VanVleet to a two-year, 50 million dollar guarantee is sensible. In a vacuum, VanVleet was substantially overpaid at the over 40 mil he made per season the last two. He’s a middle-of-the-pack starting point guard. But his professionalism and headiness brought major value to the Rockets’ kiddie corps while their payroll was otherwise very low. Ideally, Reed Sheppard makes a leap to look like an NBA lead guard in his second season, after a pretty much zippo of a rookie campaign. Sheppard is supposed to be a lights-out shooter. For the Rockets to max out, they need two sharpshooters on the court to balance Thompson’s presence.
For Astro-centric conversation, join Brandon Strange, Josh Jordan, and me for the Stone Cold ‘Stros podcast which drops each Monday afternoon, with an additional episode now on Thursday. Click here to catch!
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